Jayson Tatum Looks To Emulate Kobe

In a tightly contested affair, Jayson Tatum caught the ball at the top of the key. As he surveyed the landscape, the most skilled high school player in the class of 2016 had a variety of options. Jab step and drive right? Cross-over and go left? Or maybe a pull-up jump shot?

This time around the smooth and talented Tatum dribbled quickly to his right just above the free throw line. With his back towards the smaller defender he feigned once to his left, then back to the right, before finally spinning towards the middle of the court for an un-blockable fade-away jumper. The ball calmly swishes through the net as Tatum turns around to play defense. 

With the fade-away jumper and fancy footwork down pat, it wouldn’t be too hard to conjure up images of Kobe Bryant in your mind, especially the move he makes at the 20 second mark of this video. After the game, it comes as no surprise when Tatum mentions the one basketball player that he tries to emulate.

“Oh, Kobe. Kobe Bryant,” Tatum said. “That’s my favorite player. I watch him all the time. His highlights, how he trains, documentaries, YouTubes, everything. I just try to study all of the things he does.”

All of the studying has certainly paid off for the 6’8” point forward from St. Louis. Tatum was dominant in his first AAU tournament after his freshman year winning MVP honors in the 16U division and two years later he is even harder to guard. Last week while playing in the Lexington EYBL, Tatum averaged 19.8 points per game to go along with 7.8 rebounds. He also shot a remarkable 50% from the floor including one performance where he shot 11-17 from the field. 

Every time he steps on the court, Tatum is the focal point of the opposing team’s defensive plan but the un-selfish star always manages a way to create open looks for himself while keeping his teammates involved in the offensive flow of the game.

“Most people usually double me or put a pretty strong guy on me,” said Tatum. “I just need to use my mind to get around it.”

When the double teams come, Tatum uses his height and passing ability to find the open man and when he has a defender on him that is trying to muscle him up he can either shoot over or drive around the defender. While Tatum can score in a variety of ways, he does get critiqued on both his athleticism and strength when it comes to projecting him at the NBA level.

Jayson’s father, Justin Tatum, a former defensive standout at Saint Louis University noted that the two were working on Jayson’s explosiveness by doing plyometrics and other exercises designed to stimulate the fast twitch muscle-fibers.

“Yeah, I definitely feel more explosive,” noted Tatum upon completion of four games in three days. “I get a little more tired in the last day with all of these games but I just have to stay in shape and stay healthy. My game has grown. I’ve gotten taller, stronger, quicker, and a little bit more aggressive.”

Tatum’s increased explosiveness was certainly on display in his lone game on the last day of the tournament. With Kostas Antetokounmpo, the slithery 6’8” combo forward and also the younger brother of Milwaukee’s Greek Freak dribbling the ball at the top of the key Tatum deflected the ball after an attempted cross-over. As both players raced down towards the other end of the court, things did not end well for the little Greek Freak.

Prior to the first live period in early April, Tatum narrowed his list of college suitors down to four: Duke, Kentucky, Saint Louis, and UNC. Three head coaches in John Calipari, Jim Crews, and Roy Williams were all front and center for Tatum in Lexington, while assistants from all four schools tracked his every move over the three day live period. Tatum previously took an official visit to Duke in February and has been on the campuses of both Kentucky and Saint Louis. Needless to say that the UNC staff is trying hard to get him to visit Chapel Hill at some point as well.

“Yeah you know they want me to come visit,” said Tatum. “I wouldn’t mind either. Right now I’m just trying to figure things out.”

As Tatum continues to figure out his recruitment, he will also continue to befuddle defenders with his repertoire of Kobe like moves.